Two Start-Ups from Africa, Ifarm Agritech from Kenya and Tobadaa from Egypt, have joined 23 other start-ups from around the world to emerge winners in the United Nations World Tourism Organization UNWTO global startup competition.
The start-ups were recognized for their unique contributions to sustainable and responsible tourism in the UNWTO Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs Global Startup Competition.
Tobadaa was recognized under SDG11 – Sustainable cities and communities category and shared the prize with Metrica6 from Spain. Ifarm Agritech emerged winner in SDG2 – Zero hunger
category.
The competition, which was supported by the United Nations Innovation Network, attracted some 10,000 initial proposals. From these, the jury chose 25 winners from 18 countries, highlighting the array of tourism talent in every global region and its widespread ability to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Shortlisted finalists were judged according to criteria which included the potential of the startups to contribute to a specific Goal, their ability to be scaled-up, and the maturity of both the product and the team behind it.
The 25 winning startups, selected by a jury made up of leaders from across the tourism sector, offer distinct solutions for advancing the SDGs. The Americas led the way in submitting winning proposals, with nine of the competition winners coming from the region. Europe provided eight winners, Asia and the Pacific six, Africa with two winners, and the Middle East one winner.
According to the Secretary-General of UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili by embracing innovation, the world can realise this potential and build a better future for people and the planet through tourism.
“The winners show the power of new ideas for transforming our sector. By embracing innovation, we can realise this potential and build a better future for people and the planet through tourism. I congratulate them all and look forward to seeing these startups grow and deliver positive change” he said.
On his part, Lisandro Menu-Marque, Director-General of International Business Development for Globalia and Wakalua said:
“The take-off of post-Covid tourism is moving closer and closer. The implementation of many of the innovative solutions, which have been brought us, entrepreneurs, from all over the world, will be part of this. The collaboration of institutions, governments, and corporations will help host and scale-up many of these projects through the Wakalua Hub, to make tourism a much more sustainable, responsible, and socially impactful sector, all with the support of the UNWTO.”
Globalia is a key ally of UNWTO in its shift to lead the positive transformation of the sector, working together to identify and promote innovation through several competitions over recent years.
The winning startups will now be given expert support and backing to develop further, including through guided mentorship programmes from Amadeus, Google, IE University, and FarCo, and tailored mentorship sessions from Mastercard and ClarkeModet.
The winners will also be invited to take part in a pitching event, to be hosted by Wakalua within the framework of Spain’s International Tourism Fair (FITUR). Another pitching event will take place at the Tourism Tech Adventures Forum, due to be held in Qatar in collaboration with Qatar Airways and Qatar National Tourism Council, another partner for the project.
Furthermore, the winners will benefit from access to all UNWTO’s collaborators for the competition, opening the door for potential game-changing pilots and networking opportunities with Amazon Web Services, Globant, BBVA, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Lab, Telefonica, Plug and Play, the Advanced Leadership Foundation, Impact Hub, mentorDay and the destination partners for the Competition.
The Full List:
SDG1 – No poverty
Etnica (Guatemala)
SDG2 – Zero hunger
Ifarm Agritech (Kenya)
SDG3 – Good health and well-being
BlueDot (Canada)
SDG4 – Quality education
Immersion India (India)
SDG5 – Gender equality
Sisterwave (Brazil)
SDG6 – Clean water and sanitation
ECOLOO Greentech Malaysia SDN BHD (Malaysia)
Zero Mass Water (United States of America)
SDG7 – Affordable and clean energy
BeFC (France)
Enexor BioEnergy (United States of America)
Swimsol (Austria)
SDG8 – Good jobs and economic growth
Clio Muse Tours PC (Greece)
Community Homestay Network (Nepal)
SDG9 – Industry, innovation, and infrastructure
DefinedCrowd (United States of America)
FREED GROUP (aka TravelFlan) (Hong Kong)
SDG10 – Reduced inequalities
Travaxy – accessible travel (Israel)
SDG11 – Sustainable cities and communities
Metrica6 (Spain)
Tobadaa (Egypt)
SDG12 – Sustainable consumption and production
Lumitics (Singapore)
SDG13 – Climate action
ClimateTrade (Spain)
Opus 12, Inc. (United States of America)
Safety Line (France)
SDG14 – Life below water
Seven Clean Seas (Singapore)
SDG16 – Peace, justice, and strong institutions
Impulse Travel (Colombia)
SDG17 – Partnerships for the goals
Nibi (Colombia)
Siliconbali (Portugal)
